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Who to blame: Rob Ryan or the players themselves?

I don't know if it's that I'm simply a Rob Ryan fan or if what I'm seeing is actually what is happening. I feel like our defensive schemes aren't bad. We seem to be in position to make stops, but time and time again we miss tackles, can't get around blocks, or commit penalty after penalty in the secondary. We have chances to get our defense off the field, but it just seems like we don't have the personnel to actually be a good defense.

So obviously I don't think it's Ryan's fault, but the players themselves. There's only so much a defensive coordinator can do when your guys miss tackles and your cornerbacks can't keep up with their man.

I am with you, I don't think that its Ryan's fault. If Browner wasn't on this team you could cut our penalties in half (that guy is dumb). I think the system is sound, but we are really young across the board. The avg. NFL experience on this def. is 2.7. Obviously next year it will go up, and thats good, but right now we are dealing with growing pains that come along with start 5 rookies on defense (Davidson, Richardson, Kikaha, Anthony, Breaux). I almost wonder if we IR'd Tull because we didn't want RR having to play 6 rookies so much (thats a lot of coaching).

Where do you see this defense finishing? I see them closing out somewhere between 14-20 (looking at the stats, thats not unfathomable). Towards the end of the season our defense might be the hottest one around as we get Ellerbe back, and while thats not saying he is an All Pro lb, he defends tes very well.

Do you think they give RR the hook after this season, or does he get another year?

Mix of both so far, in my opinion. Decisions to play a soft zone and drop Kikaha back in to coverage for a lot of his snaps are issues that are Rob Ryan's fault. I also think he needs to find a way to get more consistent pressure on the quarterback. On the other side of the argument, players like Cam Jordan, Brandon Browner, and the other veterans need to step up. Jordan has been a ghost. Y'all have mentioned the amount of rookies on the defense, but they've truly been the silver lining of the struggles. The only veteran that I'd say has truly made an impact is Kenny Vaccaro and even he is just in his third year. Kikaha leads the team in tackles, sacks, and forced fumbles, while Stephone Anthony is tied for the second in tackles and is tied for the lead in tackles for loss with Bobby Richardson (another rookie) and Jordan. That's the only thing Jordan has going for him. He's got three tackles for a loss, but just five other tackles in the first four games. Delvin Breaux is tied for the team lead in passes defended. Yes, he's been penalized a decent amount, but you can't really be upset with the fact that he's constantly in position and the penalties are mostly due to him learning how much contact he can get away with. For those who don't know, the Canadian Football League (where he came from) allows a lot of contact, so it's just a learning curve that he needs to go through. I'll tell you this much, I'd much rather deal with a few penalties from Breaux while he's in great position on almost every pass thrown his way, than seeing Patrick Robinson or Corey White chasing three yards behind their man when he catches the ball. Damian Swann is another guy that has looked very good for a rookie, along with Tyler Davison who is starting to see more and more snaps. I'm very excited about young talent in this unit. Ryan just needs to keep making sure that he puts them in the best position.

Also, they held Dallas to 3-12 on 3rd down conversions on Sunday night, which is a HUGE step in the right direction. The defense is allowing the most yards per play in the entire NFL, so that's the type of things they need to do to try and cover up their deficiencies. If you look at last year, Dallas' defense looked to be one of the best in the league, but they were actually in the bottom 5 for most of the year in yards allowed per play. They did such a good job of controlling the clock by running the ball and getting off of the field on 3rd downs, that they created a giant smoke screen and were not as good as it seemed. If the Saints can find a way to do that, things really could get much better.